


Sempai High

by Bloodskyangel



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Crushes, Heartbreak, I don't know how teenagers work, Multi, This Is STUPID, damn you hormones!, established relationships - Freeform, teens are awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-03-11 21:39:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3333812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bloodskyangel/pseuds/Bloodskyangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan belongs to Brian; they have been the power couple in Youtube high ever since their freshmen year. Barry still dreams of the day Dan will look him the same way he looks at Brian.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hormones suck

**Author's Note:**

> Okay I'm sorry that this is happening but it is. I shouldn't write this since when I was a teen I didn't know how to teen. Here is a quick run down of my players and ages:  
> Dan and Brian-18 (Seniors)  
> Arin Ross Mark and Jon-17 (Juniors)  
> Barry Suzy and Holly-16 (Sophomores)  
> Kevin-10 (because he's an adorable baby grump, so there lol)

“Oh hey Barry! Look! Look there he is~” The mocking tone was clearly noted.

“Shut up Ross”

“What’s the matter? Flag him over; let your boyfriend eat with us!”

Barry wasn’t in the mood for Ross’s crap. Ross never misses an opportunity to mess with Barry and the easiest way to do that was to mention Dan.  
Barry tried his best to ignore Ross by shoveling the sludge the school called macaroni and cheese down his gullet but he couldn’t hide the blush that spread across his cheeks. Ross smiled devilishly and opened his mouth to further get under Barry’s skin but was interrupted by the boy sitting next to him.

“Shut the hell up Ross” Arin didn’t look up from his slice of pizza but felt the smaller boy flinch. “Don’t listen to him Barry”.

“I know” Barry sighed.  
“You guys are no fun! Barry you know I was just messing around. You can take your time with introducing your boyfriend to us. Don’t feel pressured or rushed to-” Ross stopped when he felt the back of his head slapped.

“Are you messing with his again Ross? Seriously?” Holly stood over Ross with one hand holding a tray and the other on her hip.

Ross swallowed hard and blushed. He placed a hand to where Holly had smacked him and rubbed. “Sorry Barry”.

“Sure. Thanks Holly” Barry was always amazed at how Holly could keep Ross under control if he got to out of hand. Even if Arin beat him until he was black and blue, Ross would still talk shit and annoy people. Holly however, she would just need to look at Ross and he’d calm down instantly.  
Ross continued to pout throughout the rest of the lunch hour while everyone else talked. He only opened his mouth to ask about Suzy’s whereabouts.

“She told me that she needed to stay in a class for extra credit” Arin replied. He rolled his eyes and sighed, “It’s not like she needs it; she has the highest grade in all her classes”.

To say Suzy was an overachiever was an understatement but with her perfectionist attitude she was the perfect student. She helped the whole gang with school work and a lot of times she would just do Arin’s homework for him since he worked fulltime at a crappy burger joint. He planned to save up for himself and Suzy to leave their parents’ homes and live together after graduation. Barry admired the two and their relationship since it seemed like no one was made more for each other than themselves.

“Well she plans on going to fancy schools and she needs to do what she can to get in” Holly pointed out. “Just because we don’t plan on going to a university doesn’t mean she has to skip out on it too”.

“Well, no duh Hol. I don’t want Suzy to get anything less than she deserves but god damn she works herself to the bone just for a letter on a piece of paper” Arin shoved the last bite of pizza in to his mouth. He nearly spat it back out as Holly yelled her counter point.

“A letter on a piece of paper that could impact her future!”

The two started a pointless argument, because why not, and left Ross and Barry alone with their thoughts. Ross was still pouty so he didn’t talk to Barry and so Barry poked his spork in the leftover food and let his mind take him to wherever it wanted. He started wondering if the government made school food to be absolutely disgusting for some kind of twisted experiment to see if starving kids would eat crap. Well it looks that way since even as he thought of this he took a bite of the stale roll. He then looked about the school grounds and thought about other peoples’ lunches and how they could eat it with no problem. A girl chewed her pizza as her friend told her about some party, a boy spoon fed some mashed potatoes to his girlfriend, and another boy sitting on the ground against a tree shared his spaghetti lady and the tramp style to his boyfriend who sat on his lap. At the last sight Barry had to turn his head and try to forget he saw it. Ross saw Barry’s face turn red and the panic set in his eyes. He turned and saw what upset Barry; Dan was laughing and licked red sauce off his lips. His body hid the boy underneath him but Ross knew who it was. Ross turned back to Barry who was on the verge of tears. Ross wanted to say something to Barry but the school bell rang loudly and drowned him out. Barry grabbed his book bag and ran off without saying a word.

“The hell? I know Barry likes his computer class but he could say something before he leaves” Arin folded his arms.

Ross pointed to the two boys now making out; the spaghetti disregarded and spilled onto the grass. Holly and Arin shared glances and hoped Barry would be okay.

~.~

Barry was okay after he regained his composure. He splashed his face with water in the boys bathroom sink. The water cooled his red face and the droplets covered the tears streaming down his cheeks. You’ll be mine one day, he thought, I just have to wait for the right time. He quickly ran to his class and sat down just as the bell rung for class to start. He didn’t have to turn his head to see Mark smiling at him like a dork.

“Hi, Barry. Have a good lunch? Filled your tum-tum with yum-yums?” Good guy Mark; Barry will never understand how someone like Mark could be real. He was always smiling, telling jokes, making everyone around him feel good. Even if he just met someone he greeted that person with a warm smile and a wave of the hand. He treated everyone like a close friend and his close friends were treated like kings. He was the goofiest guy and no one ever wanted him to change.

“Heh heh, yeah I did. You doing alright?” He didn’t have to ask, he already knew the answer.

“Doing awesome buddy, oops better pay attention now. Mr. Green is starting lecture”.

When Barry first met Mark earlier that year he was surprised to hear that he was an athlete. He had such a good work ethic and was serious when it came to school. The other athletes Barry knew of slacked off in class if they bothered to show up. Barry even made Mark his study partner and hasn't received a letter grade below a B. Barry has attended every one of Mark’s football games with the rest of the gang to cheer him on. He would try his best to only pay attention to Mark but it has hard if he saw Dan there; cheering HIM on.

Barry seethed silently as he thought about HIM. Why did he have to get to Dan first? Why couldn’t Dan see how that guy wasn’t good enough to call himself Dan’s boyfriend? Why wasn’t Barry brave enough to tell Dan how he felt?

“Hey, little buddy? You okay?” Mark asked with genuine concern?

Barry snapped back to attention. He missed the class notes completely and the bell had rung for students to get to their last class.

“Oh gees, thanks for waking me up Mark. I kinda dozed off”.

“Everything okay?” Mark pat Barry’s shoulder gently.

“Yeah- no, well. I’ll be okay.” I think, he thought to himself.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Later. Thanks Mark but we’re gonna be late to our last class if we don’t hurry”.  
Barry and Mark ran to the school gym and left each other to their P.E classes; Mark to football practice and Barry to regular P.E. Barry noted that Dan wasn’t in the gym. No doubt he snuck off to watch Him, Barry thought snidely.

“Bri!” Dan ran after a boy clad in a football uniform. The boy turned in response and kissed Dan. Barry felt bad that he hated him, but Brian was the only thing standing in his way; taking Dan away from him before he even had a chance.

I’ll get him though, Barry smiled to himself, and I won’t be the underdog for long.


	2. Big words for a little man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry finds no supporters for his plight but an unexpected friend will give some hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay a later part of this chapter (I'm sure you'll figure what I'm talking about when you get to it) somewhat reflects my experience when I revealed I was bisexual to a friend. Everyone's experience is different and everyone's battles are different. I still face hardships when it comes to my sexuality but sometimes I'll reveal myself to someone and it won't be so bad. So those of you struggling, I understand and implore you to keep going strong. People (straight and gay) think bisexuality is fake but how can it be? Men and women are both so beautiful and people in general are fascinating. I just wrote this note so hopefully no one will be offended or try to call me out for bullshit. I'm sorry, now on to the show! :D

Barry heard loud beeps coming from his phone. He stared at his phone in disbelief. How could it be six already? Barry just stared at the bright screen and willed it to go an hour back for more sleep. He finally turned it off when his older brother threw a pillow at him and demanded he turn off his alarm. Barry got up and stretched. Barry always wanted to ask relationship advice from his brother but couldn’t get the nerve. It’s not like he and his brother weren’t close; Alex still lived with the family as he attends college and stays in his room with Barry. They rarely argued outside of who is using any electronic device at any time. Hell, Alex was the only one in the family who knew Barry was gay but that was only because he caught him heavily making out with his ex-boyfriend about a year ago. Barry then started to wonder about Jon; what was up with him now?

As if on cue Barry heard his phone ring with Jon’s custom ringtone; the theme to Mad Monster Mansion (go figure). Barry pulled on his pants and walked out of his room as Alex threw another pillow at him.

“Hey dude!”

“Sup Jon?”

“Wanna hang out?” Shit, Barry remembered, school is out today; I could’ve slept more!

“Sure. What did you want to do?”

“I dunno, fuck around. I texted Arin but he never answered so it looks like it’s just you and me.”

“Kay, I’ll head to your house then?”

Barry could see the smile forming on his face “Cool, cool. See you in a bit”.

They have a strange thing between themselves: They were together for a year then broke up but still stayed friends (best friends actually) but sometimes they still hold each other and touch lips and… Barry shook his head; none of that today. As much as he wanted Dan to notice him Barry wanted Jon back just as badly and yet to never see Jon again. It was complicated; and Barry’s teenage mind couldn’t quite understand. Maybe when I’m older I figure it out, he kept telling himself. He found himself at Jon’s porch and knocked. Jon answered on the second knock.

“Get in here bro!” Jon pulled Barry in by the collar and shut the door. Barry expected Jon to be all over him but instead he pulled out an old Nintendo cartridge. “Is this not the greatest thing ever!?”

Barry studied it carefully. It looked like a regular game. Goof Troop. “I guess so?”

“Oh goddamnit Barry! We are playing this now and you’ll see why you’re a piece of shit” Jon slammed the game into the system and they started playing.

Before Barry knew it they had played the game for an hour. They laughed at the characters and story while praising the graphics and gameplay. It was a nice distraction that he desperately needed. That was until the game was over.

“Whoo that was great!”

“Yeah it was that was actually awesome!”

“Heh heh, so Bar-bar wassup? With life, you know? Got a replacement for me?” Jon winked and smiled to show no ill will.

Barry blushed and cleared his throat. Jon grinned and slapped his hands together.

“Ooooh you do don’t ya?”

“Well no not really. I just kinda like this guy and-”

“Do I know him?” Jon was on the edge of his couch cushion with his hands on his knees and his back straight. Barry thought Jon was a little too excited about this.

“Well yeah I guess so”

“Oooh ohh! Is it Arin?”

“What? No!”

“Ross? No not Ross. No one likes Ross. Felix? No its Mark isn’t? Oooh ooh it’s-”

“It’s Dan!” Barry yelled and immediately blushed.

“Avidan?” Jon had slipped back into the cushion and let his hands drop to his sides.

“Yeah…” Barry slipped a hand behind his head and rubbed.

“But, he’s with Brian.”

“I know”

“The athletic super nerd”

“Right”

“The biggest bully in school”

Now Barry was getting annoyed and gritted his teeth. “I know”

“Those two have been together since before we started high school”

Barry just nodded his head.

“They have been the power couple since their freshmen year! Last person who tried to get at Avidan was sent to the hospital”

“Jesus Christ Jon I know!” Barry saw Jon’s shock and was ashamed that he didn’t keep his cool.

“I’m just trying to look out for you. I still care, a lot. As much as I want things to go back to the way it used to be I know I can’t make it happen. I can’t erase my mistake-” Barry shuddered at the thought. “but I want you to be happy and alive for god’s sake!” Jon punctuated his last point with a slap on Barry’s knee.

“I appreciate it, I really do. I haven’t even talked to Dan except if I just happened to have a class with him so it’s not like Brian would be after me or anything”

“Oh well, I can see the chemistry between the two of you” Jon’s words dripped with sarcasm.

“Shut up. Aren’t you supposed to figure out chemistry while dating?”

“Well good luck getting there. As much as I find you to be adorable you don’t seem to be Dan’s type. I don’t see Dan dropping Brian for you and even if he did you wouldn’t last the day. Brian would tear your ass so wide it-”

“God, enough Jonathan!”

“-would hold a truck inside. Look I’m just trying to snap you out of this crazy dream you have! You deserve better than me and frankly better than Dan. You know what they say about him”

“Yes. And I’d appreciate it if you’d wouldn’t-”

“Slut, druggie, manipulator. I don’t want to have to mess up that pretty face of his but I will if I find out he tricked you somehow. He loves to mess with younger boys who fall for his charm and get their hopes up and dashes them”.

Barry got up and left Jon’s house. Jon ran after him but stopped when he reached his street curb. Barry wouldn’t accept this. What they all said couldn’t be true. He knew the real Dan Avidan. The one who made him feel special. That glorious summer school semester that placed them in the same math class. That special time couldn’t have meant nothing to Dan. There had to be some spark that Dan felt; the same one Barry felt.

Barry arrived back at his house and ran straight to the back yard for privacy. He sat on the stones that surrounded his mother’s garden and watched the bees buzz around the various flowers he planted with his mother. He didn’t even hear the tiny footsteps creeping up on him and by the time he realized someone was behind him he was tackled from behind.

“Ah-ha! Gotcha Barry!” Kevin dangled on the back of Barry’s neck and interlocked his fingers so he wouldn’t let go easily.

“Ahh oh no you got me!” Barry played around with Kevin as he lazily grabbed behind himself and gently tugged Kevin’s hair. “Dang kid tell mom to get your hair cut” Barry grabbed Kevin by the arms and flung him over on to his lap. “I can barely see you under all that fluff” Barry tussled the little boy’s hair playfully.

“Nuh-uh! I like it this way!”

“If you let it get too long then it’ll come to life and eat you and make you a zombie!” Barry made his voice shaky as he said this and gently tugged at the hair again.

“But how will it make me a zombie if I’m already eaten?”

Barry tickled his little brother to cover his ill thought out logic. He loved Kevin and loved to play with him. His fluffy hair rivaled Dan’s but as cute as Dan was, he couldn’t compete with Kevin. The way his nose scrunches as he fights Barry’s hands and how his little giggles turn into howls of laughter when Barry gets to the very ticklish places were just too much for Barry to take sometimes. Barry loved his family and friends and felt that life was truly perfect. It’s just that it would be nice to share this with Dan, he thought. Dan would probably love Kevin and Kevin would certainly love Dan, he was sure of it. His thoughts were interrupted as Kevin managed to get away from the tickling.

“He he he he… Barry! He he…” Kevin tried to catch his breath.

Barry smiled at Kevin, lowered his head and closed his eyes. He vowed to never cry in front of him but Jon’s words were really starting to bore into him. It didn’t help that he felt helpless to do anything yet; it wasn’t time to do anything yet about Dan and the situation was all wrong. Barry felt Kevin get closer to him.

“Barry? You okay?”

“It’s just” Barry sighed and looked at Kevin “something I can’t talk to you about. You wouldn’t understand”

“I’m not old enough?”

“Well yes but… forget it Kevin. I’m okay”

“No you’re not. I’m not dumb I can see your eyes even if you close then again. Want me to get Alex?”

“No, please don’t do that Kevin”

“I’m going to do it” Kevin warned in a sing-song like voice.

“I swear to god Kevin don’t! I don’t need to talk right now!”

“I’m sorry” Kevin stood with his hands behind his back and knees slightly bent. He looked honestly scared and ashamed.

“I’m sorry Kev” Barry pulled him into a hug. “I just don’t wanna talk about it, okay?”

Mrs. Kramer walked out of the house and looked at the two boys expectantly. “Why were you yelling at Kevin, Barry?!”

Kevin faced their mother. “It’s okay mom! It was my fault and we already said sorry to each other!”

“Well okay, if you say so Kevin. But no more yelling understood!?”

“Yes mom!” the boys yelled back. She went back into the house and left the boys alone.

“You should talk though. Practice by telling me” Kevin grinned a toothy grin and waited for Barry to start.

Barry sighed and rubbed his knees. He placed Kevin on them and cleared his throat. “Okay I’ll tell you a little. But you have to promise me you won’t tell anybody. Okay? Promise me.”

“I promise sir!” Kevin grinned and placed a hand over his heart; laughing goofily all the while.

“I mean it Kevin you can’t tell anybody! No one, not Mom or Dad”

“Alex?”

“He already knows. My friends know too but that’s all who does. It’s my secret for now but I’ll tell you if you promise to not tell anybody else”

“I promise” Kevin was much more serious and Barry saw that.

“You know how in the movies and stuff some boys fall in love with girls and they get married and stuff?” Barry saw Kevin nod his head. “Well some boys don’t like girls”

“Cause girls are gross”

“Well it’s more than that Kevin. You see, some boys like other boys”

“But some people say that’s bad! Those are gay people and they are bad!” Barry’s heart hurt immensely. How could Kevin believe that? Who told him that? Who brainwashed his little brother and turned him unknowingly against him?

“Who said that Kevin?”

“People on TV, they say gays are bad. But some shows say they are good. Mom doesn’t let me see those shows though”

“That’s cause you’re not old enough for the shows, not because of the gay people. Kevin what I’m trying to say is I’m gay”

Kevin stared into Barry’s eyes for a good while. He studied Barry as if he could determine if Barry was telling the truth or not. “But you’re not bad”

“And a lot of other gay people aren’t bad either. You like Jon right?” Kevin nodded his head. “Well he is gay too. He was my boyfriend for a year”

“But not anymore?” 

“We don’t love each other the same way anymore. We still love each other but we thought it was better if we stayed friends”

“So gay is okay?”

“Gay is okay” Barry punctuated with a wink.

Kevin hugged Barry tightly. “I don’t see why you’d like girls anyways. I don’t like boys but that’s okay. You’re still Barry. And Barry is cool! Cool cool cool cool.”

Barry couldn’t stop the tears that fell from his face. This happened so fast and awkwardly and yet he felt relieved to tell Kevin and for Kevin to accept this. For being do young he did a lot better than Alex who didn’t talk to Barry for three days and slowly came to accept Barry.

Kevin ended up going to the kitchen table to finish his homework to enjoy the rest of the four day weekend. Barry was glad Kevin didn’t say a word to their parents. Barry told Alex later in the evening about what happened with Kevin. Alex hugged Barry and apologized for his reaction when he caught Barry with Jon and when he was comfortable enough to tell him about his sexual orientation. Barry accepted his apology but opted to not ask Alex for advice about Dan. His phone buzzed with the id stating it was Mark.

‘Wanna hang out tomorrow?’

‘Absolutely’ Barry replied.

‘C u then! :)’ Mark was a good understanding guy. Maybe I can talk to him about it, Barry thought. Barry smiled and headed back to the living room to sneak up on Kevin and scare the crap out of him.


	3. Sempai?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry needs to decide whether to give up this lost cause or pray for a miracle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaay!

Barry waited for Mark to show up at the park. Why did Mark insist on meeting so early? Barry looked at the time on his phone and groaned when it read 7:26. He was left alone with his thoughts which were dangerous these days. He started to fantasize about the day he’d get the courage to tell Dan how he felt. He would stand with his chest puffed out and his voice clear and commanding. He’d confess and Dan would swoon and confess his love as well. He’d be approached by Brian and would be challenged to a duel. He’d accept and beat the shit out of Brian. Brian would crawl away in tears and Barry would claim Dan as his own.

“Barry? Barry? Hey~”

What? Oh Mark!

Barry shook himself out of his fantasy and stood up to greet Mark. “He-hey Mark! Oh man my bad. I’m sorry just thinking about stuff” Barry blushed so hard that his face color rivaled his red shirt.

“Oh ha ha no problem. You okay? I wanted to hang out and see if you’d talk to me about what’s been bothering you but don’t worry; we can take as long as you want” Mark smiled his trademark smile and gestured for the both of them to sit down.

Barry didn’t speak right away. He knew very little of Mark. They talked a little before and after computer class but not much outside of that. Normally they only spoke of class and what computers they had used and wanted and they exchanged phone numbers for class. Now Barry had to talk to Mark; the kindest, funniest, sweetest, smartest football jock. It didn’t help Mark was a tech nerd and a gamer; the whole package. He didn’t necessarily find Mark to his tastes but he knew plenty of girls and boys who would kill to be in his place right now. Eventually they had covered the subjects of childhood games, family members, and finally talked of their hopes for the future.

“Yeah. I just really want to help people get through their rough patches in life and make them laugh” Mark always looked Barry square in the eyes and turned himself to face him completely. Barry appreciated that; he felt Mark was giving him his full attention and treating him like a real friend.

“That’s great Mark. How do you want to do that?”

“I dunno!” Mark chuckled. “But by George I’ll do it!”

Barry chuckled back. Mark had such a warm smile. “Well let me know when you figure it out”

“What about you Barry? What do you want to do?”

“Behind the scenes stuff. I’m pretty good at editing, I think, so I want to help edit videos or something”

“That sounds excellent! Do you find Mr. G’s class helpful?”

“I think so. I also hope to find someone to share my life with”

“Everyone wants that Barry. Isn’t it funny how a universal want can be so hard to get sometimes?”

“Tell me about it” Barry mumbled. He rubbed his arm in thought. Mark caught on immediately.

“Is that wants bothering you? Want to talk about it now? It’s fine if you don’t want to” Mark talked with a low voice as if there were hidden spies listening in yet with a soothing tone to show Barry that he could trust him.

“I guess I should. I’ve felt something for a certain someone. Something strong ever since I first met him- err her!”

“It’s okay Barry. I’m bisexual myself”

“Oh really?” Mark nodded in affirmation. “Well yeah, I’ve had this crush since I met him two years ago. I met him when I was a freshman in a summer class. He was a sophomore then.”

“Can I ask who it is?”

“You would know who it is”

“Who?”

“Avidan”

“Oh Barry. You poor soul. I’m sorry, this may not be what you want to hear but you should-”

“Forget about it. I know. Everyone is telling me that”

“Look, Brian and Dan may not be close friends of mine but Brian is on my team. I know how he can be and he wouldn’t take too kindly to anyone trying to take Dan from him”

“I’m not gonna steal Dan but I can’t help but feeling we have something Mark. I’m I wrong?”

“I’m not sure. What is it about him that you like?”

“He’s sweet, has the voice of an angel, he’s probably the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, and when we had that class together we talked. A lot! He told me things he said he never told anyone; not even Brian. We connected. I feel it still Mark, how can I be wrong if the feeling of a connection is still strong?”

“Have you talked to him since?”

“No I’ve been too worried about Brian getting mad at him”

“Barry, they are still going strong and it doesn’t look like it’ll stop soon. What is the chance he’ll be with you when they seem so happy together?”

“I can see their happy with each other. I’m not blind to that but I know I can make him happy”

“And you?”

“What about me?”

“It’s a mistake to think that as soon as you two get together, if that even happens, you’ll have a fairy tale ending”

“Relationships are about working to that happiness. I know it won’t happen right away but I know we can work”

“Better than Brian?”

Barry stayed quiet. He didn’t have an answer. Could he make Dan happier than Brian could? Brian was athletic, excellent in school work as he wants to be a theoretical physicist, and he can make anyone laugh with his dirty and inappropriate humor. Barry couldn’t compete with that as a video game playing computer nerd.

“Look Barry, I don’t want to dash your dreams or hurt you but you need to forget about him. Please Barry, you’re too sweet and good for that” Mark looked to Barry with great sincerity. Even as he pleaded with Barry his eyes did the same as he stared into Barry’s as if he was pleading Barry’s soul. He is serious, Barry thought, but should I really just give in? But there is something Mark isn’t telling me, what is he hiding?

“Mark? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“No. Just please listen to me and don’t pursue. Please, I beg of you. We’re good enough friends that you’d consider my words, right?”

“I’m sorry Mark, I’ll consider what you said and what my ex told me but I can’t let this go. Not yet. It might just be my infatuation and hormones taking over but I swear to you Mark I know there is something there and I have to go for it. Maybe I’m wrong but I can’t give up till I know”

Mark sighed and placed his head in his hands. “I just hope you don’t do anything crazy. I got your back though”

“You mean it?”

“Sure why not? Us nerds have to stick together” Mark continued to hold his head in his hands.  
Barry smiled and thanked Mark for the talk and understanding. They spent the rest of the day talking about puppies oddly enough since Mark is obsessed with cute things. Barry didn’t mind, it seemed fitting that a cute guy would be obsessed with cute things. He was extremely grateful Mark wasn’t a mind reader as he thought that.

The next day Barry had spent his third day of his four day weekend at the beach with his family. Barry had to dump a bucket of sand over Kevin and Alex as Kevin pointed to a group of 20 some year old boys out to Barry and he and Alex made kissy faces. Barry was yelled at later and made to do the laundry since he got sand all over his brothers’ trunks. He wanted to protest that the sand would have still made its way into the trunks but opted to pay the price for his revenge. Alex later on mentioned that he saw a boy with the “biggest fro he’d ever seen that wasn’t on a black kid” walking the boardwalk and flirting with every guy he saw. “Kinda cute I guess. I’m no homo but hey, if there was an exception, I’d probably do him” He said. Barry fumed but didn’t say a word. He just hit his head against the pillow and ignored his older brother’s teasing.

Barry’s fourth and last day of the long and awkward weekend was spent in a dream. He had waited for Ross to meet up with him at the local game shop for over an hour but was suddenly unable to go due to wasting the weekend and not having any homework done. Barry was already at the shop so he simply walked in. The game shop wasn’t big and didn’t have the best games most of the time but every once in a while a hidden gem would reveal itself. Barry would go to find these gems whenever he had the money but he’d normally strike out. Barry was elbows deep in a N64 bin when he was interrupted by the sales clerk.

“Can I help you find something?” An angelic voice asked.

Barry felt a cold sweat. It couldn’t be…

“Oh wait! Uhmmm Barney! Hey man how’s it going?” 

Ouch. “It’s Barry” Barry mumbled.

“Ah shit my bad. It’s been a long day and I’m almost off the clock. To be honest I came over here to flirt with you but didn’t recognize you until you turned around. How embarrassing would that have been! Could you imagine?”

Please don’t make me. “Uhmm well since you’re going to be getting off work soon would you like to get some pizza or something? Or just hang out?” Barry was a nervous wreck and he had no doubt Dan saw it.

“Why Barry are you asking me out on a date? I’m a taken man you know” Dan gave a quick wink.

“Err no! Just uh-”

“Relax I’m just fucking with you. I know you’re not into dudes. Just give me a minute to clock out and stuff and I’ll be right out. We have so much catching up to do!”

But I am into dudes. “O-okay” Barry smiled widely despite himself and waited patiently outside the store. While on the outside Barry seemed calm on the inside he was mocking the naysayers and singing to the heavens. Victory was close at hand, he could feel it!

“What’cha looking at Barry?”

Jesus he scared the shit out of him.

“Nothing!”

“Whoa calm down” Dan giggled. Each giggle resonated with Barry and he made mental notes of each one. “Now that you mentioned pizza I’m starving. Let’s go”

“I’ll pay” Barry volunteered.

“This is a date isn’t?” Dan grinned and elbowed Barry’s side playfully.

“Err” Barry smiled back and hoped Dan wouldn’t notice the blush that plastered itself against his face.

When the got to the local pizzeria Dan insisted they just get a simple medium cheese pizza and two drinks. The pizzeria offered free refills which Barry took full advantage of. He had dreamed of having some time alone with Dan and to talk with him with no interference but now that he has this rare chance gift wrapped to him he can’t bring himself to say a word and opts to drown himself in root beer.

“Easy up on the drinks champ, you’ll end up pissing yourself before the pizza gets here. Don’t you get drinks at home?” Dan gave a small and gentle smile. Barry now hated himself since it was now obvious he was nervous; obvious enough that Dan has caught on and probably now knows something is up.

“I do like them”

“Huh?”

“Guys. I do like ‘em. I’m gay”

“Oh, really? I thought either the black haired girl or the pink haired girl was your girlfriend”

“Whoa wait what? No! That’s Arin’s and Ross’s girls. They’re my friends”

“Ohh. I’ve noticed you and your little group. You all are super cute. I’ll miss you guys when I graduate at the end of the year”

“Ye-yeah” Barry wished that wasn’t so. It was a reminder that he had to act fast. He wouldn’t graduate for another two years and by then who knows where he’d be. “But do you remember the summer class we had a while back?”

“Of course. I was terrible at math but you were awesome at it. Why were you there?”

“I was sick a lot the last semester of that year. I ended up missing so much my A+ on the final couldn’t save me”

“Wow that’s a bunch of bull”

“It’s okay. I had fun in that class and I met a lot of people that are super cool. Like you”

“Aw thank you. We should hang out more. It’s a shame that we didn’t hang out more before but hey we have four more months”  
Four months; not too much time, thought Barry. “We really should. When are you next free?”

“Oooh uhm I’m not sure. Give me your number and we’ll talk more and set something up!”

Barry never wrote so fast in his life. He scrawled his number on a clean napkin and handed it to Dan. Dan took it and smiled. He made a sudden grab for Barry’s hand and took the pen from the same hand slowly and coolly. If Barry didn’t know any better he could have sworn that Dan was being a bit flirtatious but pretended to not notice. Besides he had to focus on reducing the red hot flush covering his face. Dan’s hands were smooth and warm and Barry found that his hand fit nicely in Dan’s. Barry noticed the long fingers before but never really saw the thumbs; they were a bit odd but definitely not a deal breaker. Barry started to wonder what Dan could do with those long fingers of his but was snapped back when Dan let go of him. Barry stared at the number in awe. I can’t believe I got his number, Barry thought. Dan walked with Barry to his car and gave Barry a lift home. After they bid each other goodnight Dan peeled away and left Barry to float gently into his house and land on his bed with a heavy flop. He grabbed his pillow and snuggled with it; occasionally squealing into it.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Ooh you said heeellll…”

Alex and Kevin were standing by the door frame staring at Barry. Barry just smiled and stated “Nothing”.

“Whatever nerd, I’ll leave you to your little boyfriend Pillow McGee. Mom wanted us to tell you that dinner will be ready soon”

“Wow Pillow McGee? That sucked so hard!”

“Shut up Kevin” And with that Alex shut the door and left Barry to think about what life had just given him.

“My chance” Barry mumbled happily to himself and Pillow McGee, “is really here. I can’t screw this up”

Barry heard his phone chime and stared at the screen with another huge smile.

He received a text that read: Hey it’s Dan. You busy?

I’ll never be too busy for you Dan.


	4. Phone Sex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not what the title suggests. Barry might have Dan's friendship but will it move on from there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh lord have mercy on me! I've been stressing out so much over midterms but it's over now! And my college gave spring break early this year so I should be getting the next chapter out soon enough! I'm back bitches!!... except you're not bitches I apologize...

“Shut up!”

“No way…”

“You finally got the balls, about time Mate!”

“Shut up Ross this is serious!”

“You poor, poor bastard”

Barry was getting steamed. Why weren’t his friends congratulating him? Why were they so against him and Dan?

“Oh my god you guys, so what? I just got his number; that's all that happened. No big deal.”

Arin motioned for the girls and Ross to stay where they were and took Barry off to the side where they could talk in confidence. “Look, I know you’ve been lonely since you and Jon broke up and he ended up at a different school but you can’t be serious here. How do you expect to make this work between you two?”

“It’s not even going to get that far” Barry felt his heart sink as he said that. “Even if I really wanted to” Which I do… “How could it?”

“Make sure it doesn’t. I just don’t want you to get hurt. None of us do; we love you man. We don’t know what we’d do if Brian-”

“Don’t worry about it! Nothing is going to happen! He doesn’t even know I have a crush on him”

“Keep it that way”

“Hey love birds, no making out here!”

Barry nearly had a heart attack. Brian held Dan’s hand as they passed by Barry and Arin. Dan smiled and winked at Barry who started to blush from embarrassment. Arin backed away from Barry with a slight scowl on his face. “Can’t tell me what to do Avidan”

“Whoa buddy is there a problem?” Brian let go of Dan and stepped up to Arin.

Barry knew Arin wasn’t scared of Brian and wasn’t one to back down easily. Barry waved to Suzy franticly. Much like Holly was the only one who could keep Ross under wraps, Suzy was the only one who could calm down Arin. She ran as fast as she could; putting the track team to shame. Dan tried his best to hold Brian back. It hurt Barry a bit to see Dan place his hands on Brian’s chest and speak softly to him to calm him down; like a coo of a dove. Suzy did the same to Arin when she arrived. Arin held Suzy and immediately calmed down. Brian did the same with Dan when he saw Arin put his guard down.

“Dan let’s go. I got to get these books back to the library anyway” Brian placed an arm over Dan’s shoulders. Barry wanted Dan to look back and wink or smile or something; anything. He didn’t; he just scolded Brian on losing his temper.

“What the hell happened? Arin? Barry?”

“Nothing” Arin huffed. He took Suzy’s hand and walked back to Ross and Holly who were still standing dumb founded. Barry followed behind the couple and replayed the wink Dan gave him in his mind over and over.

When Mark wasn’t in his desk at computer class Barry was relieved that he wouldn’t have to hid anything from him since his friends didn’t exactly place confidence in him to tell anyone else about Dan. As class went on however, Barry grew worried. Mark never misses class. Barry sent a couple texts to Mark but didn’t receive a reply. Barry gave up as class ended and decided that he’d make a copy of his notes for Mark later. As he changed his into his P.E clothes he sat in the shade of his gang’s waiting spot. It was a nice area with plenty of trees and a small section of the old abandoned bleacher where the baseball field used to be. Barry stretched and laid himself on the bleacher while he waited for Suzy and Holly. Arin and Ross had art class at this time so P.E was just Barry and the girls; they called this P.E the “boy-watch hour”. There were plenty of guys to check out and Suzy and Holly weren't ashamed to take a peek. Barry swore to never tell the guys; even though it wasn’t like that at all. Holly and Suzy would look but never dream of actually cheating; they knew Ross and Arin did the same thing. Barry would be much to shy to actually try his luck with any guy here so he was glad to ogle on the side lines with the girls.

“Hey Barry!”

Barry sat straight up, almost falling off the bleacher as he did. “H-hi! Dan!”

Dan giggled as he saw the flush spread across Barry. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you”

“Nuh no, you didn’t haha. Cool as a… a uhm?”

“Cucumber”

“Yes thank you”

“Hahaha man I should have found you sooner. Everyone else around here is such a drag”

“I thought you’d be with Brian right now”

Dan sucked his teeth. “The couch caught us making out before practice and told my fag ass to go away”

“Did he say that!?”

 

“No, I wish he did so I could sue or something. Anyways what’s up?”

“Nothing just waiting for some friends”

“Can I wait here too?”

“Absolutely!”

P.E passed by quickly as Barry and Dan spent the whole time talking. Barry noticed that the girls didn’t show up to class at all. Where was everybody; why didn’t anyone go to class today?

When Barry got home he ended up talking to Dan on the phone instead of doing his homework. No sweat, he thought, I can do it later. He ended up even turning Kevin away and flipped the bird to Alex as his older brother kept teasing him. Dan told Barry how he hated this school and how he couldn’t wait to get out. Barry listened as Dan ranted about how this city was a drag too. There were so many homophobes and people who just turned the other way when someone needed help.

“People don’t want to be reminded that their star football player, Brian, is the biggest fag around. When I’m out there I can’t run out to kiss him as he wins games. Not that matters anymore… can I tell you something?”

Barry hoped his hard swallow wasn’t audible. He was glad Dan couldn’t see the new sweat starting to form. “Sure Dan. Anything you want to say I’ll listen”

“Thanks. I don’t think Brian loves me anymore”

“What makes you say that? I thought you two were solid”

“I thought so too but when we’re alone he doesn’t talk to me like he used too. It’s only when we’re out that he treats me well. It’s like I’m only around for arm candy. He hasn’t even told me he loved me in two weeks. I dunno but I’m getting tired of him not paying attention to me”

“How long as this been going on?”

“About a month or so. I want to talk to him about it but when I tried yesterday he just said he couldn’t deal with me and hung up on me. I’m I crazy or something Barry? Am I overreacting?”

“No way! If I had you I’d spend every minute I had making you feel like a king; you don’t deserve any less than that Dan. You’re perfect and he’s an idiot for not recognizing that!” Barry realized what he just said and wanted to die. But he needed to say it and Dan needed to hear it. This wasn’t even about him anymore; he had to help Dan, not because he had feelings for him but because Dan needs help that he can give.

“… Do you really mean it?”

“Absolutely. Dan you’re perfect and I’d give anything to be with you- with anyone like you I mean… I’d be happy if I was given an opportunity”

“Thank you Barry. I think I have a better understanding of what I need to tell him. I’m worried about him not listening to me though. He wasn’t that great of a listener in the beginning but now it’s impossible to make him listen to anything I say unless I mention penises”

“You make him listen. Let him know that it’s either he listens and changes or you’re breaking up with him!”

“Oh gosh, could I even do it? We’ve been together for so long and I still love him”

“Yes you can, you don’t need someone who’ll treat you like that! It’ll be hard but you’ll get through it, you’re strong I know it. Also you have me…”

“Thank you Barry, really. I just don’t know…”

“Why are with him anyway? He’s a big bully and arrogant and-”

“He wasn’t always like that! Really…”

“How so?”

“He tried so hard to get me to go out with him but I was so scared of what the town would do if they saw us. He said we’d just go out and not worry about what they thought. When he kissed me in broad daylight in front of all those people I felt a rush and I felt like no one could touch me, not while he was around. When we actually became a couple he made me feel safe and wanted. He made sure to show me that I was all that mattered; going out whenever we could, remembering my birthday, meeting my family, and being there for me when I was struggling to get out of bed in the morning. I was passionate about making a band and he was supportive. Now I can’t even get him to look at me sometimes when we- I can’t tell a little baby like you something like that! Silly me”

“You were about to say during sex right? I’m not that much younger than you, you know?”

“Haha sorry. But yes that’s what I was getting at. It’s not the way it used to be”

Barry couldn’t help but start thinking about Dan in bed. As a virgin Barry couldn’t see Dan under him but… Barry cleared his throat and cleared his mind from the  
thoughts. “Erm uhh-”

“Aw you are thinking about fucking me?”

Barry made an audible gulp and stammered. He heard Dan giggle on the other side of the phone.

“I’m just kidding! Hahaha!”

“Haha and what if I was?” Barry asked in a quivering voice.

“Oh you! I’m much too old for you! Hahaha!”

I’m only two years younger than you, Barry thought.

“Oh I have to go, it’s dinner time at my house. Are you free tomorrow after class?”

“I am. I totally am”

“Cool. Wanna hang out after school is over?”

“Shu-sure! Absolutely! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Night Barry. I love talking with you. You’re a really cool person. See ya!”

Barry heard the click of the phone and looked at the screen. It said they had been talking for an hour but Barry wished for more time. I’ll see him tomorrow though, he assured himself. He rolled over and fell asleep almost instantly; his phone still clutched in his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about that one time I said bitches...


	5. How could you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry is caught off guard but so is Dan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever yet it was rushed... I'm so sorry haha!

Barry was the happiest person on earth. He listened to Dan talk about his dream of living off his music and how he lived for singing. He watched Dan and how passionate he was as he talked; his gestures and body movement was captivating as he acted out his performances and dreams. Finally Barry was brave enough to ask Dan to sing for him.

“Really? You wanna hear me sing?”

“Of course! C’mon don’t leave me hanging” Barry turned to face Dan directly and placed his hands on his knees. He waited patiently as Dan cleared his throat and stood up. They were sitting by the fountain that stood proudly in the town square; a series of twisted film reel that shot out gentle streams of water with a small plaque that read “The City of Youtube; the home of New Media”.

Dan was finally ready and sang.

“The road is gone, pouring out,  
Morning star, rising from, broken dark,  
Sail on your own path, I'd only hold you back,  
When I said, that I looked,  
Beyond the dark days, that are happening, at your fate,  
Will you carry on, set down, road is gone,  
Pouring out, morning star, rising from, broken dark  
Will you carry on, set down, the wind is gone,  
Pouring out, morning star, rising from, broken dark”

Barry sat in amazement. Dan couldn’t be any more perfect, he thought. The power in his voice and the way he just lets his inner rhythm take over his body was beautiful. As he sung, Dan moved his body in time; the sway of his hips and how his hair bounced was captivating. Barry was so entranced that he continued to stare even after the performance was over.

“Barry? Hello?” Dan sat back down next to Barry; a bit too close to Barry.

“Oh! Uhm I’m sorry I loved it! You have a beautiful voice”

“What else?” Dan scoot even closer to Barry. Barry blushed and looked away; turning his head ever so slightly. Dan saw this and placed a finger to Barry’s chin and tilted it back to face him. “What else do you like about me?” Dan was almost kissing distance and it terrified Barry. This was too real for him and as much as he wanted this, he wasn’t ready. Dan smiled devilishly and seductively; he knew.

Barry continued to stammer until he was able to get a clear thought. “You’re extremely sweet and kind”

“Oh let’s not pussy foot around. You know what I mean Care-Bar”

“D-do I?”

“I should hope so. You’re not exactly subtle Barry. I could tell since the day we met in that summer class you wanted me” Dan could hear the heart thump in Barry’s chest. “So tell me, what do you like about me?”

Barry continued to panic. This couldn’t be happening; not now when he wasn’t ready. This was wrong; where was the Dan he had feelings for? This Dan made him want to find the nearest bedroom to lose his virginity and cry all at the same time. Barry half prayed for a savior and half prayed for an excuse to let this happen. “…You’re very sexy”

“How?” Dan placed a hand on Barry’s knee; all the while still very close to Barry, faces about two inches apart. Dan parted his lips slightly and was about to lean closer to Barry who saw his wildest dream about to come true.

“Avidan”

Barry and Dan jumped. Dan shot straight up from Barry while Barry just looked up at the new person with frightened eyes. Dan looked at the person who interrupted him with a look that confused Barry. It looked like a mix of fear, disappointment, and hope.

“Markimoo?” Dan asked.

“You don’t get to call me that anymore. I thought we had an understanding Avidan” Mark said with a tone that Barry could tell was a struggle to keep level.

“Aw c’mon it’s not like that!” Dan started to walk to Mark.

“You owed me enough to at least pretend you were listening to me”

“I did, I am. I’m listening to you it’s just… aw c’mon how many times am I gonna have to say I’m sorry until you stop torturing me?”

“Don’t change the subject. You don’t deserve any pity Avidan. You reap what you sow. You could have respected my one request: leave the kid alone”

“It’s not like that. Tell him Barry”

Barry stayed quiet. He didn’t know what was happening and a part of him didn’t want to know. Although he was a bit pissed that they referred to him as kid, that was the last thought on him mind. His main concern was how they knew each other. Barry watched as Dan walked closer to Mark. Mark took a couple steps back in response with didn’t deter Dan. Barry could have sworn Dan was trying to lean in for a kiss but Mark pushed him away and made his way to Barry. Barry felt like a child as Mark took him by the arm and walked away with him. The whole experience made Barry feel like he was a child watching mommy and daddy fight with him being led away from a teary-eyed mommy by a very upset daddy. Mark led him to his car and opened the door for him. Barry felt like crying but decided that he couldn’t let himself do that yet until he got answers from Mark. Mark drove for ten minutes until he started to talk. 

“I’m sorry Barry. I didn’t want you to find out but I told Danny to not talk to you like that”

“Danny? Only Brian calls him that, sometimes”

“Yeah. I’m sorry Barry I just didn’t want you to go through what I went through”

It suddenly clicked in Barry’s mind what that event was all about. “You said you weren’t hiding anything from me”

“What happened to me doesn’t matter right now”

“I think it does! Look everyone is telling me that he’s such a bad guy but I never listened because it all speculation and rumors. I know something happened between the two of you and I need to know what it is if I’m going to be with him”

“Barry! Why are you still thinking about being with him? Look I didn’t want you to know but if looks like I’m going to have to tell you about Dan and I since you just don’t get it”

“Tell me”

Mark took a deep breath. He didn’t want to think about it; he didn’t want to relive it but he had to for Barry’s sake. He had to know the truth. Mark pulled over and parked the car. He and Barry turned toward each other and looked into each other’s eyes. Mark prepared himself as he thought about what to tell. His heart began to hurt and his eyes began to sting as tears threatened to escape. Mark opted to only give Barry a brief synopsis for now; he promised he’d tell Barry more when he felt he could.

“For now all I’m able to say is Dan hurt me and when I really needed him to be there for me I couldn’t count on him. He was just looking out for himself and left me behind. And now whenever Brian and I make eye contact he is sure to flaunt the fact that he has Danny now. It took a long time for me to get over him and even now it’s hard. He has a way of making you feel so good and sucking that feeling from you till all you feel you have left is him. You become a shell of your former self and it’s only by the grace of god and friends that you can get yourself out of that feeling and try to move on. I care about you Barry but I can’t protect you if you don’t want my protection. You can let him work you like a puppet or you can be one of the few that didn’t fall for him. I’ll let you decide since this is your life and I’m just someone who wants what’s best for you”

Barry thought about Mark had said. Could it be true? He felt like he had to talk to Dan about this; get to know what his side of the story is. For now he’d go with Mark and think about what he said. There had to be some truth to what he said; he saw how Dan acted and saw the tears that stayed in Mark’s eyes. But could there be more to the story?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be what happened between Dan and Mark in the past so stay tuned (if you want, please do).


	6. I think you can do much better than me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little glimpse of Mark and Dan's history.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title of the chapter is a song lyric from Hinder's "Better than me". Give it a listen :)  
> I wasn't sure if the jumping around between "present day" and " the past" was clear so I marked "the past" with a ~.~ to clarify. Enjoy this chapter (hopefully).

Mark had already dropped Barry off at his home and was driving to his own home when he just happened to spot Dan getting out of a bus. He must have gotten on one just as we left, Mark thought, odd. Despite his better judgement he found himself pulling over and opening his passenger door for him. Dan got in with a sheepish grin and fingers interlocked; like a child who got caught playing hooky by an angry parent. As much as Dan wanted to say something smart and perhaps be a bit flirty, the look on Mark’s face told him to remain quiet. As Mark drove in the direction of Dan’s home he began to think of what happened just a couple of years ago; when Mark experienced Dan’s toxic love.

~.~  
It started so simply. Mark had just moved in to town and entered the high school campus as a freshman. The only thing he knew would happen was that he would attend his classes along with every student on campus; he had no idea he would see an angel that day. More like a fallen angel, Mark thought bitterly. A fallen angel that glowed. The sun shone in his eyes and danced warmly on his skin. His smile was the most enchanting thing Mark had ever seen and it made him feel something he never felt before; at least not for another guy. He had a few girlfriends before and his last ex had burned him badly; the picture of her and another naked guy still burned into his mind. He wasn’t ready to start having feelings again but the chemicals in his blood stream started bubbling full force within him. He just had to find out who this lanky devil was. I wonder if I ever did find out who he really was, Mark pondered.

Perhaps it was because he wasn’t really paying attention but somehow Mark found himself pulling up to the parking lot of the city park. He turned to Dan who looked like he wasn’t paying attention either as he didn’t respond to the area. Dan blinked in surprise when Mark got out of the car. He slowly followed and stood with the car door open. He closed it as he watched Mark walk towards a particular tree; a tree with a twisted and mossy trunk.

~.~  
Dan led Mark to that same tree two years ago with one intention. His filthy thoughts were gratefully crushed as Mark stared at the tree with child-like amazement. Mark felt the damp moss with his fingertips and asked Dan to do the same. Dan laughed and declined prompting Mark to grab his hand gently and pull it to the moss. Dan felt the texture and shuddered; it was disgusting and made Dan think the moss would give him a rash. He withdrew his hand and groaned in annoyance as Mark grabbed his hand again and made him touch the moss again; this time Mark kept his hand over Dan’s. Dan gripped the moss in a sort of protest but then he really felt the moss. It was soft and cool against the summer heat. He’s different, Dan thought, I can’t just ignore his feelings; not when I think I’m starting to feel the same. Dan had flirted hardcore with the freshman for weeks but, to Dan, it seemed Mark saw it as him just being friendly. Mark was delighted that Dan was spending so much time with him and even buying him ice cream after school and he did know why. He only feigned innocence as he heard the rumors and thought he could change Dan. Dan sat with Mark that night by the mossy tree talking about his dreams of becoming a famous rock star without missing the look of pure adoration Mark gave him.

Mark stood next to the gnarled tree trunk and softly grazed his fingertips against the moss. Dan walked up to him slowly and carefully. He knew he hurt him and himself by being a selfish coward; but how could he convince Mark he truly learned his lesson? He felt as if he and Mark met at the wrong time. In high school you feel as if the romantic relations you have are true love and for those lucky few that stay with their young lovers it’s a reality. Unfortunately it’s not as common as the silver screen will have you believe. Dan felt that he and Mark should have met when they were in their later college years. By then maturity should set in and their desires should be clearly outlined. But they already met and the damage has been done; the only thing Dan could ask for is that Mark could forgive him.

~.~  
Dan had felt a little brave that day and slipped his hand into Mark’s. Mark looked to Dan and gave him a goofy smile. Dan couldn’t imagine all the jealous eyes that spied on him that day. A few days later he was genuinely surprised to have Mark in his bed cuddling with him. Dan couldn’t believe that he told Mark he loved him that night and meant it. The next day Dan had entered his class expecting to have a regular class session and was instead greeted by Brian. Dan was of course flustered when Brian asked what he was up to during his absence but remained silent about his affair. He prayed to a god he didn’t believe in the whole class period that Brian wouldn’t find out about Mark; for Mark’s sake. Later that day he held back tears as Brian held him against the gymnasium wall and questioned his sightings with Mark. Dan denied it all despite Brian giving him a chance to leave the relationship. Dan still loved Brian but it wasn’t as strong as the feelings he had for Mark. Dan panicked and told Brian he was devoted to him and him alone. It was so hard to tell Mark that he couldn’t stay with him. He lied, told Mark he didn’t love him anymore so Mark could hate him. Dan didn’t want his hate but he couldn’t have his love. Dan couldn’t imagine that Mark would challenge Brian and yet he stood and watched as Brian held Mark in a head lock before the entire student body. Mark had a bruise forming over his left eye and blood trickling down his chin while Brian just had a small scratch on his cheek. While Brian was smaller Mark was slower so Brian’s abilities overpowered Mark. Mark looked to Dan and pleaded to him to tell the truth and express his true feelings. Dan saw everyone looking at him; the hearts he had broken and the hearts he had yet to break. He couldn’t bring himself to be with the one person that could bring him real happiness while surrounded by so many pained souls. He had to let go of his only chance at redemption; it was only fair.

Mark still couldn’t understand why Dan had left him that day; battered and bruised. He still felt a pain in his heart whenever Brian flaunted Dan in front of him but he couldn’t be too upset at him. As far as Brian knew, Dan was a perfect boyfriend and hasn’t ever gone behind his back to torment boys who didn’t have a chance. He felt Dan slip his hand into his and, as much as he would love to hold Dan’s hand again, he pulled away violently. Dan allowed the tears to fall this time and Mark did the same. Their love was still there and even as Mark heard and understood Dan’s explanation he couldn’t let Dan into his life again. The wound was still raw and this bandage Dan gave was too little too late. Mark drove Dan home and denied himself any pleasure as Dan kissed him softly. Dan walked into his room and wrote a text to Brian. “I don’t want to be with you anymore. I don’t love you. I hate you. You make me sick. I stayed with you because I was scared of being alone. Little did I know that staying with you made me feel more isolated than ever before. Good bye forever” Dan didn’t send the message and saved it as a draft by closing the message app. He sat against his bedroom wall and wept at his cowardice while Mark cried tears of joy knowing that Dan is in more pain than he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure I've mentioned this before but college really eats up your free time. :p


	7. Nobody's fool anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry decides to take charge but not for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Presents story to the world. Awaits feedback and comments.

Barry woke up to a knock on his door. Kevin popped his head in the room and told Barry he had a visitor. Barry groaned and asked who it was. Kevin shrugged and left Barry to try to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. Barry dressed quickly and ran to the living room which connected to the dining room. He could hear his mom talking to someone calling the person “dear”. Barry knew it wasn’t Arin or the others since mom always called them by their names followed by “sweetie”. Barry walked in and nearly passed out; what was Dan doing here?

“Hey man I just wanted to see if you wanted to walk to school with me” Dan looked calm which made Barry all the more nervous. Barry simply nodded his head and bid his mom and Kevin goodbye as he and Dan left the house.

“Why and how did you come to my house?” Barry gulped nervously. He wanted to trust Dan but Mark wouldn’t lie to him. He didn’t want to believe Dan would want to hurt him though. Barry waited for Dan to answer and was about to ask again when Dan finally answered him.

“What did Mark tell you?”

“N-nothing”

“Bullshit, I know he did. You expect me to believe he didn’t tell you anything after the scene he made yesterday? C’mon, out with it!”

Barry flinched and stood in place. Dan walked a few steps ahead of him before he realized Barry stopped walking. Dan nearly palmed his face and stood with his hands on his hips; staring Barry down. Barry knew Mark wasn’t going to appear out of nowhere and save him again so he’d have to deal with Dan alone.

“What’s it to you? You left him when he needed you the most! What game are you playing with us? I want to trust you and help you, I really do, but you have to come clean right now” Barry stood tall as he gained his courage.

“Wait what? It wasn’t like that. I gave him a way out! He isn’t like anyone else is met on campus: smart, sweet, compassionate, caring, humble…”

“Did you ever intend in giving me a chance? You said it was obvious that I liked you so you knew this whole time. Were you just gonna string me along like everyone else?”

“No. To be honest I just wanted to be friends with you. Yesterday was a mistake; it’s so hard trying to keep a sex drive like mine under control and it would have been so easy to get you to do anything I wanted. You’re so young and vulnerable-”

“I’m not that much younger than you! Why does everyone keep mentioning that? What understanding was Mark talking about? Mark really didn’t tell me anything so tell me!”

“He really didn’t say anything? Look, two years ago we fell in love with each other. Brian was suspended for a month and when he came back I broke Mark’s heart to protect him. I still don’t know why I stayed with Brian and Mark challenged him; thinking he was keeping me away from him. I had my chance to be with him and I threw it away on some bullshit morality I had at the time. I tried to make it up to him and ask him to take me back but he refused; even after I said I’d leave Brian. I guess I really humiliated him that day. I guess your innocence reminded me a little of him. He asked me to stay away from you; he really cares about you. To be honest I’m jealous of you; I don’t know if he’s protecting you because you’re a naive friend or because he likes you. I tried to ask but he shut me down. Take that for what you will but forget about ever getting with me; I’m not worth your time. I need a friend, will you be that friend?”

Barry waited before responding and let all Dan said sink in. He started feeling bitter and wanted to scream at Dan and profess his crush and find Mark to punch him. Barry tried to calm himself and tried to think rationally. You don’t need him, he told himself, besides his heart belongs to another. Dan needed a friend? Well Barry was just gonna have to settle for that. If his experience with Jon taught him anything is that you can’t force someone to like you and it’s best to move on as you are able. Sure it hurts, but pain dies down eventually; especially with help from some understanding friends.

“Okay. We can be friends”

“Great! Now help me figure out a way to win Mark over again!”

Ouch. “Wait what? No! That’s not how this works!”

“What?”

“You can’t manipulate someone to liking you! I and all the other guys, including Mark, who pursued you genuinely liked you. You manipulated us into thinking we had a chance but we already were willing to believe you. Look I’ll talk to Mark and you-”

“What? What should I do?”

“Break up with Brian”

Dan hesitated and he hated himself for it.

“Dan? … Daniel!”

“I’m sorry, yes! I’ll do it. Anything for Mark”

“I don’t believe you”

“What? I mean it!”

“No you don’t. I can’t believe you actually tricked me again. How could I honestly think you, of all people, would actually want to change?”

“Give me some slack here! I’m trying here! I’m desperate Barry. Help me, please” Dan grabbed his hair in frustration.  
Barry studied Dan; his beautiful form crumpling under desperation. Dan’s body folded over like a weird bow which turned into a fetal squat. Barry could have sworn he saw a tear. If Dan’s faking then someone should give this guy an Oscar, Barry thought.

“You want help, then do your part. Break up with Brian then I’ll talk to Mark. I can’t guarantee he’ll give you another chance but you have to take the first step”

“Okay. I’ll do it today. I swear it!” Dan bolted upward. He was surprised he responded right away and gave himself a mental pat on the back.

“Well we better hurry up and get to the school if we’re going to do this!”

The boys rushed to class and for the first time in a long time Barry felt in charge. He was no one’s fool anymore.


	8. Should this story continue or end here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tell me how you really feel.

Hey everyone, BSA here. I haven't worked on the story or even been on this site for a month. I can continue this story or I can drop it and make other stories. I am asking if there is anyone that wants this story to see an actual end or if nobody cares enough to see this continue. I won't be upset so tell me what you really feel. I await to hear from you. Have a great day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^u^ Have a good day everyday.


	9. Fairy Tale ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all coming to a close at the end of the school year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh! I'm here I'm here! Anybody still here?

Barry bounced his leg nervously as Mr. Green explained the intricacies of the motherboard. He couldn’t get rid of the feeling that Mark knew about the conversation he had with Dan earlier. Obviously Mark didn’t know and Barry was being paranoid but he kept looking at Mark and quickly turning away when he caught himself doing so. This eventually made Barry paranoid about Mark noticing Barry looking at him. What if he sees that I’m looking at him then he makes some kind of connection and gets mad that I talked to Dan? Eventually the class was dismissed and Barry realized he didn’t take any notes. He closed his empty notebook and walked out of the classroom leaving Mark behind.

“Barry!”

Oops. “Sorry Mark. I was thinking about…something else”

“Danny?”

“Er what!? No, I wasn’t thinking about him! I mean why would you say that! Why? Are you thinking about him? I mean it-”  
Mark grabbed Barry suddenly and pulled him closer to him.

Oh dear god no, he’s going to punch me in the face! He knows, he knows, he knows, he knows, he knows!

Barry feels his lips crushed by his friend’s and starts to violently jerk away. Mark’s strength proves to be too much for Barry but he eventually is released by Mark. Mark stares dumbfounded while Barry struggles to find his breath.

“What! Was! That!?” Barry nearly collapsed from the sudden action and found Mark babbling; trying to figure out an explanation. Barry saw Mark kept looking past him so he turned around to find Dan. Oh fucking course; let’s bring out all the old clichés! He thought.

“Dan!” Barry yelled. Dan started jogging to the gymnasium. “C’mon, we ought to get to class too. You know that was incredibly stupid right?”

“Sorry… I didn’t know what else to do. I’m not good at improve”  
As Barry approached his locker he noticed Dan wasn’t in the locker room. After changing he received a text from Dan which asked to meet Barry at the P.E hangout spot Barry had with the girls. Barry ran out there as fast as he could and found Dan calmly pulling petals off a small yellow flower. One by one the petals fell about Dan’s shoes and Barry was reminded of old kid’s cartoons; a pretty maiden pulling off petals from flowers and chanting “he loves me, he loves me not”. Before Barry could explain what happened Dan turned to him, leaving one petal on the otherwise naked flower.

“I know he just kissed you to make me jealous. I know you didn’t kiss him back. Although, seeing him kiss someone else just to hurt me kinda made things a bit more… it put things into context. I don’t know, maybe I should just give up. If he’s going to make petty attempts… stoop to my level… then maybe I shouldn’t push it. I fucked up before and know I’m paying for it” As Dan talked, he twirled the tortured flower between two fingers. The last petal followed the motion of the rest of the flower. The motion was eventually too fast for the petal and the petal flew off. Dan watched it fall uselessly to the ground and whispers “…he loves me not”.

Barry watched Dan walk away. Before he could think of something to say he felt someone behind him. He feels the person grab him and place a hand over his mouth. Barry hated being strong armed twice in the same day. He was dragged behind the tree that provided shade for his hangout. Barry saw his kidnapper was Brian as he was shoved against the tree. He wished Dan didn’t walk away; he could calm Brian down!

“So, what nonsense did you fill Dan’s head with?”

“Nothing! Why?” Barry gripped the tree nervously.

“He dumped me”

“Uhmm maybe he doesn’t want a relationship with you anymore? That has no nonsense and nothing to do with me! He didn’t leave you for me”

Brian heartily laughed “I know that! Don’t flatter yourself Kramer. Why did he leave me?”

“Jesus let it be! He doesn’t want you anymore. Are you crazy or something? Leave him alone!”

“I’m fine with him leaving! We weren’t working out anyway”

Barry looked with confusion at the jock.

“I found out that he was sleeping with other guys. I also heard that he has been seen with Mark lately. Is it true?”

“Don’t hurt Mark, he wants nothing to do with Dan!”

“So was Dan lying this whole time about his feelings towards Mark? He could have-”

“Stayed with Mark all that time ago, I know. From the looks of it, Dan will be alone. He left you, Mark doesn’t want to give him another chance… and he doesn’t want me”

Brian crossed his arms and thought for a bit. “What if I talked to Mark?”

“He isn’t a fan of yours right now. He thought you were keeping Dan from him”

“We can sort that out”

“We?”

And with that Barry was strong armed again and led to the football field.

Dan had wandered for a bit until a yell from an instructor snapped him back to reality. He lazily ran laps with the rest of the present student body while he thought about how he wasted an opportunity. Mark was perfect and now he’d have to move on with no one by his side. He had no friends; the only reason anyone noticed him was because of Brian. Barry said he would be his friend, but where was he now? Dan looked around to be sure Barry wasn’t trying to catch up to him. He wasn’t. Dan slowed to a jog and noticed some kids pointing at him; some grinned and some sneered. His reputation in the school was both positive and negative although it was based on the same subject: his exploits. It wasn’t as bad as some people thought. But then again some people thought too well of him. Honestly, Dan was looking forward to disappearing from the conscious minds of his fellow students. Maybe he needed to be alone; he hasn’t been alone for a long time. It was his biggest fear aside from sharks; but this fear shouldn’t be able to kill him. Right?

Barry saw Brian nearly seething with rage while Mark calmly held his ground. Barry wished Brian wasn’t so strong because if he does decide that killing Mark is a better solution than continue trying to convince Mark that Dan was truly a loving guy, Barry couldn’t stop it from happening. Barry couldn’t fathom why Mark was so calm. Couldn’t he see how his red shirt angered the bull? Barry was about to try to see if he could pull Brian away when Mark spoke.

“Look, it doesn’t matter what we both thought we saw. Dan is a pathological liar. What if we both never saw one bit of truth from him? I can practically guarantee that we didn’t”

“Aw c’mon give him a little more credit than that”

“Why are you defending him? Hasn’t he hurt you the most?”

“No. We haven’t really been working out for the longest time. We fell out of love a long time ago but I guess we didn’t want to let go. I saw it was hard for him to break up with me but he did it, for you. Can’t you at least talk to him?”

“No. I won’t do it. How can I trust him anymore? I don’t even feel the same way as I did before”

Brian nodded his head at this.

“I can understand that” Barry said thoughtfully. Mark and Brian looked to Barry with surprise. Barry looked back at them. “I loved Jon when we were together and it took all of my being to break up with him even after he… did what he did. And now I know we can’t work but he insists that we were meant to be. As strong as my feelings were before, they are nothing but a memory now. Mark I’m asking you to talk to Dan. Nothing more. Just talk to him. After that you two may never speak to each other again or you can be friends… or maybe something more. I don’t know what will happen. But just… go talk to him”

Mark stood while Brian leaned back against the fence. Both were surprised that Barry had so much to say and that what he said was somewhat insightful. Mark contemplated if he really should talk to Dan. What would he gain? Nothing came to mind. What could he lose? His self-control. Mark was absolutely horrified of the aspect of giving in and letting Dan get the better of him. What if he wasn’t strong enough? He needed someone to be there to give him strength but the talk isn’t a public event. Dan and Mark need to deal with this with themselves. Mark told the boys he was off to find Dan. Brian simply nodded while Barry cheered Mark on.

“Well there he goes” stated Brian.

“Yup” Barry replied with a large grin.

“So you doing anything later?” An insidious grin was plastered on Brian’s face.

“W-what?”

Brian laughed and ruffled Barry’s hair. “Just messing with you kid, you are very much not my type”

Barry mumbled angrily under his breath and walked to the locker rooms; the school bell signaling the end of class.

Mark was still pulling his arms through his street shirt when he fumbled out of the locker room. He looked around for Dan; knowing he already left as Dan’s stuff wasn’t in his locker. Mark started to jog towards Dan’s home but thought better of it. He knew where Dan would be.

Dan was still wearing his gym clothes. He didn’t care all too much about his frizzy hair or his sweaty clothes. He just needed to sit and think. When he arrived at the park he didn’t notice he was there. He only stopped walking and realized where he was when he saw the tree. The thick, fuzzy, moist moss was still there, and he was there. No one else was there. He sighed and tried to think. Nothing. He placed a hand tentatively on the moss. He remembered how disgusting it felt the first time. He gripped it. He remembered Mark placing his hand over Dan’s. He started to pull. He remembered how he stood there and watched Mark begging him to tell everyone the truth. He ripped off the moss from the tree. He remembered how he said nothing. He slid down to the ground. He remembered how he cried that night and apologized to the invisible Mark repeatedly.

Mark found Dan asleep next to the tree. Tears drying up on his cheeks and the moss clenched in a fist. Mark managed to get him to drop the plant without waking him up and tried to slowly wake Dan up. Dan’s eyes slowly opened upon hearing Mark’s voice and couldn’t hold back his smile.

“You know, I kinda gave up hope on getting you back but seeing you is the sweetest torture”.

“Well, you can thank Brian and Barry for me being here”

“I don’t understand. Don’t they hate me?”

“No. It may not be romantically, but they care a lot about you. I think they understand you better than I do. I kinda want to see what they’re talking about” Mark leaned down to pick up Dan.

Dan took Mark’s hands and stood up. “Really? You’re taking me back?”

“I never said that. What I am saying is this: we should be friends. Get to know each other better and know the other person honestly. If we end up going out again, we go out again. But if that happens it won’t be for a while. Understood?”

“Yes. Absolutely. To be honest,” Dan paused to place a hand to the back of his head. “I need to figure myself out too”.

Several months has gone by and Barry is cheering on his Senior friends as they walk for their diplomas. As Dan holds his triumphantly he sees Barry and his friends cheering. He throws up a peace sign and turns his attention to Mark; to whom he blows a kiss. Mark grabs the blown kiss and blows it back. Barry smiles and feels Ross tugging at him.

“Oi that’s gotta be rough for you” Ross said smugly. Barry flipped him off and punched his shoulder. Ross laughed and rubbed his arm. “But seriously though, you know I only messed with you to motivate you right?”

“I know that Ross. Only you would think that would actually help me”

“Sorry mate… I just hated seeing you sad and lonely. I just wanted you to step up. And it looks like you did” Ross pointed to Mark and Dan who were embracing each other.

“I guess I did. Even if I didn’t get the guy in the end, it’s not important” Barry felt Kevin bouncing in his seat beside him. He tussled Kevin’s hair and looked to his friends: Arin and Suzy kissed and held each other, Holly took pictures of every friend she saw, Jon came by to join the friends he had to move away from, and Brian was busy giving Dan noogies and high fiving Mark. Ross smiled as he watched it all as well. “What’s important is everyone is happy and here. I’m surrounded by the best people in the world”

Barry smiled as he saw Mark and Dan share a deep kiss. He smiled even more when they looked up at him and waved. He waved back and wondered what else would be waiting for him next year at Sempi High.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those of you who waiting patiently for this garbage, honestly you are the best! I had to end it here because the story is at an end haha. I thought there was more but upon closer inspection this story had to end. I hope to see you all in the next story. Let me know what you think, I'm always grateful for you guys. You give me a chance to do something I like and when you give me feedback it's always fantastic. Thank you so so much and have a good day everyday.  
> (also someone recognized my username on Youtube; isn't that insane?!)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for getting through this! Let me know if anything was good, bad, or meh. I'm only now not a teenager but when I was a teen I didn't know how to teen properly so sorry if I kinda f'ed that up. Anyway, laters! <3


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